My packing list for a salmon trip

Hi

As this years salmon trip up north approaches and my preparations are on way, I thought about sharing my packing list with you. The list has formed during many years of travel, and it helps me remember everything I need to take with me on a trip after salmon. Of course everyone has their own preferences but I hope the list might give you a rough idea of what you need. My trips usually take me far north so the list might have some unnecessary thing if you fish in a milder climate.

Tight lines

White Hackled Green&Silver aka. Rimpauttaja variation

Hi Again

This time I’m about to write about one of my accidental creations that have made its way to my top flies.

White Hackled green&silver started out as so many other great patterns, as a miss memorized version of a popular fly on the river Neiden, the Rimpauttaja. (http://perhorasia.fi/Fly/Fly.thtml?flyID=24049 for those of you that can understand Finnish) . Around ten years ago was tying at the camp and tried to copy from memory a fly, I had seen one of the older fishermen use successfully, but I got only the main colors green, silver and the typical white hackle right. None the less it was not long before the newly created pattern caught me some fine grilse after which it has slowly become one of my “go to” patterns in certain conditions. The fly has to date produced more than a dozen fish for me, with the biggest being a bright silvery beauty of 97cm.

WHGS x3

I mainly tend to use the fly in clear water and clear to overcast skies varying the size depending on the temperatures. I tie the fly, as most of my flies, in several sizes varying the size from +10cm tubes to size 10 or smaller doubles

Recipes:

White Hackled Green&Silver

White hackled green&silver:

Hook: 4-10 Double Low Water

Thread: Black

Tag: Oval Silver

Tail: Fl.Green FluoroFibre

Rib: Oval Silver

Body: ½ flat silver

           ½ Peacock green Super Bright dubbing

Wing: Under: Green Squirrel Tail, 

           Top: Dark Brown Nutria

Hackle: White Hen

Head: Black thread

WHGS Tube:

WHGS

Tube: 1-5 cm Black ProTube

Tag: Oval Silver

Tail: Fl.Green FluoroFibre

Belt: Peacock green Super Bright dubbing

Rib: Oval Silver

Body Hackle: bright Green Cock Hackle on Green part of body

Body: ½ silver braid 

           ½ Peacock green Super Bright dubbing

Wing1: Dark Grey Fox with Blue Angelhair

Hackle: White soft Hen

Wing 2: Black Himalayan goat+ Peacock Herl

Head: Silver Cone head

Salmon season 2017

Hi and happy New-year

As the year has changed and the wait and preparations for the next salmon season have begun, it’s a good time to look back at the season 2017.

Season 2017 for me was definitely defined by one thing, High water conditions.

The Mighty Skoltefossen

My trip to Neiden began as so many times before, at Midsummer. Normally at this time the spring flood has already passed and the river tends to be in “normal” summer water conditions(flow<60m³/s), but as it happened  this year the spring was around 2-3 weeks late and the flood was still on (flow 136m³/s) and the water was very cold(6,6°C)when we arrived.

Korbiniva at arrival, this caused some dissbelief (flow 136m³/s)

During the 2 weeks I spent there the conditions started to improve as the water level dropped to normal high water conditions (>70m³/s) and the temperature began to rise to around 10 °C.

Korbiniva at departure(flow 70m³/s)

As the conditions improved so did the fishing and the second week of my trip happened to be the best week of the season

The biggest down side of the high water conditions on Neiden is that most of my favorite fishing spots were unfishable, for an example Lillefossen.

But nonetheless the trip to Neiden was catch vise one of my all-time best.

The Fly-Fishing Zone (flow 70m³/s)

Skolefossen at High tide, no rapids here

Upper part of Krokfossen, caught the 94cm fish here

Panorama, Korbiniva

Panorama, upper part of Krokfossen

Panorama, upper part of Lillefossen

 2017 I also decided to start learning salmon fishing in the river Kymi, and what better way to do so than to take part in the annual Finnish championship of salmon fly-fishing. The idea was to be able to fish the river with people that are far more experienced on that river.

Ruhavuolle fly-fishing zone

The Beach

So during the later part of September I made a couple of trips to the River (the other being the competition), which got me one grilse and one 73cm long fish (which actually happened to be the only qualifying fish in the competition, talk about luck )

Where could they be (competition day 1.)

The weather was nice (Competition day 2)

The boat trolling in the picture lost a huge(10-15Kg) salmon shortly after 

Also in Kymi the Water level was high, at least according to the other people I talked to at the river       

My salmon season 2017 in numbers:

-2 Rivers

-17 days of fishing

-24 salmon caught, 6 Multi Sea Winter fish + 18 grilse

-Best flies: Blue Charm, Sarvijaakko

-Most used lines: 65´ Airflo floating spey line, Guideline connect S2+4-5tip

Biggest of the Year (96cm)

Getting Ready to go

94cm Silver from Krokfossen

Strong 84cm

First one from Kymi

Off he goes

Competition Fish

Fast measurements

Thank you